Medwed, Daniel S.

May 1, 2018 |
by Christine Boynton

Professor Medwed teaches Criminal Law, Evidence, and Advanced Criminal Procedure: Wrongful Convictions and Post-Conviction Remedies. His research and pro bono activities revolve around the topic of wrongful convictions. His book, Prosecution Complex: America’s Race to Convict and Its Impact on the Innocent (New York University Press, 2012), explores how even well-meaning prosecutors may contribute to wrongful convictions because of cognitive biases and an overly-deferential regime of legal and ethical rules. His recently published Wrongful Convictions and the DNA Revolution: Twenty-Five Years of Freeing the Innocent (Cambridge University Press, 2017), discusses the lessons learned from a quarter century of DNA exonerations. Professor Medwed is a legal analyst for WGBH News, Boston’s local NPR and PBS affiliate.

In 2013, Professor Medwed received one of Northeastern’s most prestigious prizes, the Robert D. Klein University Lectureship, which is awarded to a member of the faculty across the university who has obtained distinction in his or her field of study. He is a founding member of the board of directors of the Innocence Network, a consortium of innocence projects throughout the world, and a former president of the board of directors of the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center in Salt Lake City. He currently serves on the board of directors of the New England Innocence Project as well as Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts.

Prior to joining Northeastern in 2012, Professor Medwed was professor of law at the University of Utah. He also previously served as an instructor at Brooklyn Law School and helped oversee the school’s Second Look Program, where he worked with students to investigate and litigate innocence claims by New York state prisoners. Professor Medwed has earned numerous teaching prizes over the course of his career. He has also worked in private practice and as an associate appellate counsel at the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Appeals Bureau, of New York City.